


Saving Gray

by secooper87



Series: The Child of Balime [29]
Category: Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Doctor Who & Related Fandoms, Torchwood
Genre: F/M, Revelations, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-12-09
Updated: 2013-12-14
Packaged: 2018-01-04 03:14:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,254
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1075870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/secooper87/pseuds/secooper87
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Seo's fine.  Totally fine!  As long as no one calls her 'Cupcake'.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

...

* * *

The metal sphere Buffy had gotten in her mailbox — as if it had just appeared there, out of thin air — clicked open.

And a holographic projection of Dawn popped up, in front of her.

"Hey," said Dawn, sitting back on the couch in the tree-house looking space ship. She tucked some hair behind her ears. "I told Seo I was recording this as a warning for you. And I wasn't lying about that. I'm just… not warning you about what she thinks I'm warning you about."

Buffy frowned.

"There's something wrong with Seo," said Dawn. "Mega wrong. And I'd never have known what… if I hadn't met Gray."

* * *

...

* * *

On an alien planet, Dawn chased Seo through the maze of twisting alien markets and stalls and bazaars. Caught her up by the wrist, and spun her around.

"What was that about?" Dawn demanded.

Seo looked down at the ground. Her eyes still burning. "I don't like it when people call me 'Cupcake'," she muttered. "That's all."

"I've got a lot of annoying nicknames, too," Dawn said. "But they usually don't make me slam the guy against the wall and threaten to kill him if he ever calls me that, again." She stepped back. Crossed her arms. "So spill. What's really going on?"

Seo hesitated. Opened her mouth to answer, but Dawn got in, first.

"And don't say it's nothing, because I know that's not true!" Dawn continued. "If you were fine, you wouldn't keep wandering around the 51st century, hoping you'll run into that Crazy-Guy-Hart, again."

Seo bit her lower lip.

"I mean, is this just a hormone thing, or what?" Dawn asked. "Because I can't get why you keep falling for guys who want to hurt you — and most of the rest of the universe!"

"That has nothing to do with anything!" Seo retorted.

"Yeah?" asked Dawn. "Because I think it does! I think this is all related! I think—"

They were cut off by the sounds of screams, and rushing footsteps. People pointed into the sky, at the great big fleet of battle ships, looming over the planet. The dark signature emblazoned into the bottom of the ship hovering just over them.

"Run!" shouted a woman to her children. "Run! Run! Run!"

And then they came.

The large, black creatures lumbered forwards, their eyes glinting red, long fangs protruding from their jaws, their very stance showing nothing but malice and threat.

Dawn froze, when she saw them. "Oh, God."

"What?" asked Seo.

Dawn didn't answer. Just grabbed Seo by the arm. Turned.

And ran.

* * *

...

* * *

"See, the thing was — I recognized those aliens," Hologram-Dawn explained to Buffy. "During the Demon Civil War, this… alien came through the Hellmouth. It was the kind of creature you'd _expect_ to find in Hell. A… Yugzode. No one knew how it got in the Hellmouth, or where it came from, but… we all saw what it did." She shuddered. "I still get nightmares about that."

* * *

...

* * *

Dawn ran. Ran fast as she could. Ran for her life. For Seo's life. Ran until she thought she had no more breath to breathe, until she could hear her heart drumming in her ears and the world was swimming around her in a haze of sheer panic.

"What—?" Seo tried, again.

Dawn shushed her, swung her into a hiding spot, in the basement of an abandoned building. "I've… met one of those things, before," she whispered. "At the Slayer Institute. What it did… in Cleveland… was… just…" She shuddered. Then turned to face Seo. "If that was what _one_ did, I don't want to know what a battle fleet does."

Seo's face bent into sudden animated curiosity. And Dawn had the unnerving feeling that she'd have to wrestle Seo away from the door, so Seo couldn't poke her head out and try to see for herself.

"Don't!" Dawn hissed. She could barely stop herself from shaking. "Really. Don't. These things… they feed off pain and fear and misery. They torture people, feed off their negative emotions until the people become just empty shells. Then discard the husks."

It was a memory that still gave Dawn nightmares. Seeing those ruined, tortured people. A memory she wished she could forget.

"It called itself a Yugzode," said Dawn. "Xander called it a Mean-Not-Green-Soul-Eating-Machine. Mega defenses, almost impossible to bring down with hand-to-hand or alien weaponry. And battle only makes it stronger — it grows from the aggression and misery and desperation on the battlefield."

They could already hear the screams coming in from outside. Echoing through the basement doors — those horrified, pained, terrible screams.

"Ria only managed to get rid of it using the Tech Demon army," said Dawn. "They were demons — they thought of pain differently from humans. The Yugzode couldn't feed off them. Ria used the demons to maneuver the Yugzode right to the entrance of the Hellmouth, as it opened. Swallowing the creature back up." She shuddered. "Only this time, there's a whole army of them. And we've got no Hellmouth or demon hordes."

But… oh, no.

Because Seo had that look on her face, again. That small smile, her eyes glittering just a little, as if the spark of an idea were coming to her.

Then her face lit up, and she grabbed Dawn, yanking the doors open, and dragging her outside. "Oliver! Come on!"

"But…!"

There was no arguing with Seo when she was like this, though. They darted around, the screaming, dying people surrounding them, the creatures spilling across the city like an icy black stream of death.

They turned a corner, and raced into Oliver, shutting the doors behind them. Seo was already frantically flipping and switching and poking and prodding, racing around the central console with a feverish determination.

"There!" she said, with one final press of a button. She looked up, grinned at Dawn. "It's on automatic timer. Stay here, and it'll take you up to their spaceship. Trust me, it's all part of the plan."

Dawn's eyes went wide, her jaw dropping open. "Take… me? What about you?"

Seo strode out the door, a grin on her face and a bounce in her step. "Me?" she said, opening the door. "I'm going to let myself get caught."


	2. Chapter 2

The Yugzode warriors killed most of their prisoners before they left the planet.

But a few they kept. Those they deemed to have the most potential. Children, mostly — children had so much fear, so many nightmares, so much suffering to be exploited.

But also the fair-haired girl with the strange eyes and defiant expression.

"A brave one," said the Yugzode assault commander, examining her. "And determined." He licked his lips, in anticipation. "So much tastier when the bravest humans break."

They brought the humans up to the ship. Lead most to the induction chamber, to be branded and catalogued and then systematically worked upon. But the girl had fire in her. Began to struggle and attempt to overpower them. Tried to protect the others they'd brought along, growling threats and glaring at them through burning eyes.

None of them could wait to feast on her.

Not just brave — but a hero. A champion of the others. A fighter and a protector of children.

This would be a banquet unlike any other.

They tore her away from the others, strapped her into one of the feeding chambers onboard their ship. And started in on her, before they had even applied the brand or inputted her into the catalogue. One mention of this to the King, and he'd take her away from them. Feed on her himself.

But this one was all theirs.

They set to work.

Every torture they could devise. Any means to cause her pain. Anything that made her cry out in anguish and misery. Nerve stimulators. Mental overload packets. Old fashioned brutality.

They threw their worst at her. She'd crumble in an hour. They always did.

An hour in, the brave, determined expression shattered from her face.

Replaced by a sudden gale of laughter.

The Yugzodes all looked at one another. They'd never seen anyone react to the tortures in quite this way, before. Weren't really sure what to make of it.

"She will be tastier, when she breaks," one of them decided. Grabbing up a neural agitator. "Her pain could feed us for years."

"But my pain hasn't been feeding you so far," the girl said. Her eyes meeting theirs. "Has it?"

The Yugzodes said nothing.

"All the pain, all the torture, and you're getting nothing from me," said the girl. "Not a drop. And you don't know why?" She leaned in. Whispered, "Want me to tell you?"

In a sudden wrench of strength, the girl tore the manacles from the wall of her isolation chamber. Her eyes glittering beneath the lights. Her entire face filled with an expression none of them had ever seen.

"Love is pain," said Seo. Stepping towards them. "And the Slayer and her offspring forge strength from pain. My pain. My strength."

The Yugzodes shuddered back, a little, as she advanced. For the first time, they seemed scared.

"You take and take and take," said Seo, her eyes fixed on theirs. "But giving is stronger than taking. Love stronger than hatred. Forgiveness stronger than revenge." She stopped, just in front of one of the Yugzodes who'd been torturing her. "And I forgive you."

The Yugzode cried out, in pain, wrenching itself away from her. The others, nearby, began to moan and writhe.

"You only do this to feed," said Seo, putting a hand on the Yugzode's arm. "Should have remained as scavengers on battlefields. But you lot got greedy. Made a mistake. Abducted children and subjected them to this torture and cruelty to fatten you up." Her eyes burned into theirs. "Everyone makes mistakes. And I forgive you for them. Forgive you all."

The Yugzode with the neural agitator, in desperation, thrust it at Seo's head, so she dropped to the ground. But she had expected it. Could already feel the energy of the neural agitator flowing through her mind — could channel it, use it to enhance her own telepathic abilities. With her own ship onboard, somewhere, with Dawn's mind as a backup and support network, she could spread the message.

Every neural pathway was open inside her mind, now.

"I forgive you," Seo said. "All of you. For the deaths. The tortures. The devastations and atrocities. I forgive you."

It spread. She could feel it spreading. Across the whole ship, the one feeling they couldn't stand. The one feeling that they couldn't deal with. They fed on fear and misery and pain and hatred. But empathy, forgiveness, compassion towards them — those emotions seared through them. An intense wrenching feeling in their minds, blazing across each of their psyches, growing and growing until it got too much…

And they all collapsed, unconscious, to the ground.

* * *

Dawn had arrived on the ship, into the prisoner's section. Undetected. Immediately set about helping the prisoners to escape, find sanctuary inside of Oliver. And so many were just children! Young kids, snatched away from their parents and taken here, to be tortured over and over again.

Then… she'd been caught.

Had been backed into a corner, the Yugzodes feeling the fear drip off her in droves. They were reveling in it. Rejoicing in it. And as much as Dawn struggled to crush the fear under bravery and determination, there was always more that they found. More horror and hatred and pain inside her psyche. More…

They suddenly dropped back.

Howled.

And fell, unconscious, to the ground.

"Okay, then," said Dawn, not really sure what had just happened, but pretty sure she knew who was behind it.

Time to find Seo.

She raced through the ship, and nearly ran right into Seo, racing the other way. Seo looked cut up. Beat up. They'd been torturing her, Dawn realized — had started in on her right away.

She reached out to Seo, but Seo just smiled, and raced off. "Come on! We have to free everyone, before they wake up!"

Dawn raced after her. "What did you do?"

"Negative emotions make them stronger," Seo shouted back, as she raced back to the main prisoner section of the ship. "I fed them a positive one. Forgiveness."

Oh.

Wow.

"Won't last for long, though," said Seo, as she yanked open doors, and began to free the prisoners. "Only so much forgiveness and sympathy I could extend to them."

Dawn could hear the edge to Seo's voice. And knew.

Underneath it all, Seo was furious. Horrified. Disgusted by all of this.

It was a credit to her that she felt enough compassion towards these inhuman monsters to extend any real feelings of forgiveness towards them, at all.

"You get the ones on that side," said Seo. "I'll work on freeing this side of the room." She lifted a child out of its torture-chamber, soothing it, hushing it, speaking softly to it.

Dawn turned.

Began to open up doors and free prisoners, herself. Gathering all the tortured victims together, into a single place, assuring them that they were safe and their captivity over.

She almost missed the last chamber door.

Separated from the others. Way at the back. No screams coming from the inside. No noise. No nothing. Dawn crept towards it. She could hear the heavy, panicked breathing of whoever was inside, growing more and more terrified with her every step.

Footsteps.

She opened the door.

* * *

...

* * *

"And that was when I found him," Holograph-Dawn said to Buffy. "Beat up and messed up and tortured for so long, you could tell he had trouble remembering a time when he _wasn't_ in pain. One look in his eyes, and I just knew… he'd been there longer than any of the others. Far longer."

* * *

...

* * *

It was a young man — about Dawn's own age — his brown hair tousled, his breath panicked and rasping. He shuddered away from her, as she approached.

"Shh," said Dawn. Reaching out a gentle hand, laying it on his arm, in reassurance. "It's okay. I'm here to rescue you. You're safe."

He looked up at her. Those eyes staring deep down into hers, a fire inside of them. A burning intensity, filled with something Dawn couldn't quite identify.

He tried to speak, but his voice was too raspy and choked up to make out what he said.

"What?" asked Dawn, leaning in.

"Brother," the man whispered. His eyes blazing, as he did. "Brother."

Oh, God.

That was how he'd managed to stay alive. Stay sane. With that one thought. One word.

Brother.

Dawn felt a sudden surge of empathy towards this poor man. Remembering all those times, locked up and threatened by monsters from the deepest pits of the Sunnydale Hellmouth, placing her faith in a sister she knew could save her. A sister she loved more than anything.

"We'll find him, promise," said Dawn, using her lock-picking device on his chains. "Let's get you out of here, first."

She supported him as the last chain gave way, and he dropped. Caught him before he hit the ground. Wrapped an arm around his shoulders, helped him walk out of the chamber.

Around them, the Yugzodes were beginning to stir.

Damn.

"We've got to move faster," Dawn told him. "Think you can do that?"

The man said nothing, but tried to stumble forwards a little more quickly. It had clearly been a long time since he'd walked anywhere himself.

They turned the corner, towards where Dawn had left Oliver. But now, the Yugzodes had already gotten back to their feet, and were looking at them with snarls and growls.

The Yugzodes grabbed up weapons, and rushed them.

Okay, screw nice-and-supportive.

Dawn grabbed up the guy, and began to run. Raced as fast as she could, stumbling and staggering and dragging the tortured guy behind her, breath heaving as they approached Oliver. She twisted her key into the lock, jerked Oliver's doors open, and nearly threw the guy and herself inside, slamming the door shut just before the first laser bolt struck.

For a few minutes, she just stood there, back against the door, trying to catch her breath.

Then noticed, in the sea of freed prisoners huddled around the console room and the whole ship… one person was missing. One very important person.

Seo.

Dawn spun around, ready to race out and try to find her, but through Oliver's glass windows of, she could already see the figure of Seo racing towards Oliver, doing her best to duck and roll and flip her way through the Yugzodes who were blocking her path.

She nearly made it before they caught her.

Then the whole Yugzode ship shook, around them. Violently enough to nearly knock Dawn to the ground.

The Yugzodes were thrown off balance, and Seo jerked herself free from them, throwing herself at Oliver's doors. Dawn opened them for her, shouting at her to get in, hurry, as Seo flew into the console room, the doors shutting behind her, and attacked the central console.

"We have to get off the Yugzode ship," Seo said. "Right now. We don't want to go where they're going."

"Where?" asked Dawn, making her way through the sea of freed prisoners.

Another violent shake, and this time, Dawn really did fall to the ground. Seo kept her balance, still poking and prodding and flipping at things in her ship. The whole thing surged into life, creaking and complaining as Oliver struggled to break free from whatever was happening outside.

"I sent the Yugzode ship into a complete dimensional shift!" shouted Seo, over the noise. She grinned. "You never did say how those things wound up in the Cleveland Hellmouth."

Dawn stared. "You're kidding!"

Oliver gave a high pitch whine, and began to buck and jolt. Then, with a sudden burst and a groan, Oliver seemed to break free, the entire outside blurring around them and then disappearing into the familiar swirls and colors of the time vortex.

Seo sighed. Suddenly looking far more tired and pained than she had, before.

"Made it," she said. Looking at the sea of rescued people around her. So many children. So many young people, tortured and imprisoned to provide breakfast for a bunch of aliens. Then she looked up at Dawn. "Time to get them all home."


	3. Chapter 3

It took them a while. All those planets, all those kids returned to their parents. Seo did most of the actual delivering and talking-things-over-with-parents and that kind of stuff.

Dawn was busy.

She'd found the man she rescued a spare bed. Stayed by his side, as he thrashed and panicked and cried out, his every dream a nightmare, his every second of consciousness spent pleading and terrified and desperate.

And that word, over and over again.

"Brother _._ "

Dawn held his hand. Comforted him. Said soothing things to him, tried to assure him that he was all right. Tried to make him understand that nothing could reach him in here — nothing could hurt him.

Seo stopped by, sometimes. Looked in at them. Her eyes fixed on the form of the young man, her expression unreadable.

She never stayed long.

It took Dawn a week, before she managed to calm the man down enough that she could get anything out of him. Even just a name.

The change happened suddenly. Unexpectedly.

As he thrashed and screamed and struggled, and Dawn soothed and cajoled and calmed, she lay a hand on his arm, and he stopped. Stared at her, his eyes sharp and clear and lucid.

"You," the man said.

Dawn gave him her most supportive smile. "Dawn."

He blinked. Confused.

"It's my name," said Dawn, as she rubbed his shoulder. "Dawn Summers."

He looked down at where she was touching him. Unable to stop himself from trembling. "You… you're not hurting me," he said.

"I'm here to help," said Dawn.

A look of utter disbelief washed across him. "I can hardly remember a time when someone wanted to help me," he said. Collapsed back onto the bed, then seemed to notice his surroundings. "Where… am I?"

"Where I live," said Dawn. "This space ship. Safe." She took his hand in her own. Squeezed it, gently. "I won't let anything happen to you. Promise."

He met her eyes with his own. So much pain, burning through him. So much misery and loneliness. And, for the first time, there seemed a spark of hope in those eyes. A spark of something else.

"Gray," he told her. "My name. It's Gray."

* * *

Things were easier, from there.

Every day, Gray seemed calmer. More relaxed. Every time Dawn reassured him, he seemed to believe her a little more.

He never told her where he came from. Or about his family.

So Dawn told him about herself, instead. Her years in Sunnydale. Her time spent defending the Earth at the Slayer Institute. Her many adventures with Seo, traveling around the universe and saving people from slavery, servitude, desolation, and misery.

He sat up, their hands still clasped together. Stared into her blue eyes.

"I don't know how you can be real," he told her.

Which was totally weird to hear, for someone who wasn't real. Was just created from Key energies and a cluster of implanted memories.

"I just kind of am," Dawn shrugged. She shoved some hair back behind her ears. "Totally real. Totally Dawn. Totally fight-off-the-monstersy. That's me."

His eyes flicked to the door. "And… your lover? The blond?"

Dawn gritted her teeth. Okay, seriously, what was up with the 51st century? Any time she and Seo walked around, people just assumed they were lovers! Which was super-duper-creepy, when guys kept coming up to them and offering to have a threesome.

"She's my _niece_ ," Dawn said. "Not my lover."

Gray absorbed this. Didn't answer. Didn't say anything.

"I'm kind of… looking out for her," said Dawn with a shrug. "Making sure she doesn't get into any trouble." She gestured around her. "This is her ship. She built it, herself. Pretty cool little tree-fort thingy, huh?"

Gray nodded. His eyes going unfocused. "You… have… siblings, then? A… brother?"

And there it was, again. That shimmer, in his eyes. That fire and determination — which Dawn had caught a glimpse of, back when she'd been rescuing him.

Surviving for the love of a brother…

"Sister," Dawn corrected. "Buffy." She glanced back at the door, imagining Seo pacing the console room, a look of intense concentration on her face. "It's funny, with Seo. Everyone always says she's just like her father, but… whenever I look at her… I see Buffy. So much Buffy."

Gray didn't answer.

Dawn turned back to him. "What about you?" she asked. "Do you have a brother?"

"Yes."

And now that expression was mixed with utter pain. Misery. Despair.

Dawn squeezed Gray's hand in hers. "We'll find him," she said. "Promise."

Gray looked down at their clasped hands. Then back up at Dawn. Desperation in his eyes. An almost childlike fear in his voice.

"Don't let go," he begged her. Squeezed her hand a little tighter. "Please. Never let go. I need you."

"I won't," Dawn assured him. Squeezed back. "Promise."

* * *

The first time Seo lingered in the room for any substantial amount of time was when Gray was sleeping. The first peaceful sleep Gray had had since he'd arrived.

"Thanks for this," said Dawn, to Seo, as she ate the food Seo had brought in for her. "I'm starving."

Seo's eyes flicked over to Gray, lying, asleep, on the bed. No, not on Gray. On that mark, branded into his neck. The mark of the Yugzode, seared into his flesh.

She smoothed down the bangs along her forehead.

"He's getting better," said Dawn. "I don't know if his parents are still around, or anything, but he's got a brother. Which we could find, if he told us where he used to live."

"A brother," Seo repeated.

But just the way Seo said it, the way she looked, the way she acted — she didn't understand. Would never understand. She was an only child.

Didn't know just how powerful the love for a sibling could be.

Strong enough to get you through the worst tortures, the toughest crises, the most terrifying moments…

"You should meet Gray," said Dawn. She grinned. "He's traumatized, but sweet. You'll like him."

Seo's eyes lingered on Gray for a long while. A very long while. Her brow furrowed, her lips in a thin line.

"Maybe," said Seo, turning and walking out the door.

For a few moments, there was silence in the room. Dawn frowning, wondering what was up with Seo. Yeah, sure, Seo never really acted the way anyone expected, but… Dawn could just feel it. With every fiber of her being.

Something was wrong with Seo. Very wrong.

"She doesn't like me," Gray muttered.

Dawn jumped a mile high. Spun around, hand on her heart, trying to catch her breath. "Okay. Thanks for the freak-out session. Just let me try to find my lungs, and I'll get back to you."

Gray gave a small smile, opening his eyes. He'd been pretending to sleep. Overhearing.

"Seo's… just… having a teenage moment," said Dawn. "She's been getting a lot of those recently. I think." Unless there was something else going on, and Dawn wasn't ruling that one out. She just couldn't figure out what else it could be! "But… trust me, Seo is _super_ -nice. One of the sweetest, most caring people you'll ever meet. The moment she meets you, properly, she'll be all with the supportive." She walked over to him, giving a little laugh. "Just don't call her 'Cupcake'. For some reason, that really ticks her off."

"She's… your niece," said Gray. "Your… sister's daughter."

"Yeah."

Gray looked over at Dawn, sitting up. "Tell me about your sister."

Dawn peered at him, carefully. "Who? Buffy?"

He nodded.

Dawn sat down, beside him. Hands tucked into her lap. "Well, I guess… she's just… Buffy. You know. Amazing." Her eyes drifted off into the distance. "She always saved me. No matter what. No matter how impossible it seemed."

"She never let you go," said Gray.

"And she never would," Dawn confirmed. She gave a soft laugh. "When I was fourteen, I was nearly sacrificed to a Hell Goddess. Some spell ceremony type thing. The whole world and the whole universe — and the whole multi-verse — was falling apart, and only my death could stop it. So Buffy… gave herself up, in my place."

Gray didn't answer.

"Like I said," said Dawn. "Amazing. Still is. Still out there, saving people and doing the impossible, every single day."

"She's still alive?" Gray asked.

Oh. Uh… right. Yeah. She'd totally just told Gray that Buffy had died, and then mentioned that Buffy was alive, now.

Oops.

"She… survived the whole self-sacrifice thing," Dawn offered.

Because that was a lot easier than telling the whole truth, which was weird and mystical and most people didn't believe.

Gray nodded. Absorbing this.

"Then what was the point?" Gray asked. "She gave up her life for yours. But she's still alive. What was the point of it all?"

Dawn frowned at him. "Huh?"

"She should be dead," said Gray. "Her life for yours. That's what you said."

Damn. Gray must have totally worked out about the whole resurrection thing.

"Look, it's super complicated," Dawn admitted. "And mega weird, and I don't actually get how it works, myself. But she's alive, now, and I'll never forget what she did for me."

"What she failed to do for you," Gray corrected. "Failed to give."

Dawn stared at him, her brow furrowing. "What?"

Gray sunk back down onto the bed. "Nothing." His eyes drifting closed. "I'm tired, Dawn. So tired. I think… _he_ is the only meaning my life has left."

* * *

Dawn helped him to walk. Helped him to get out of bed and wander around the ship. Helped him as he recovered, holding and supporting him every step of the way.

When he looked at her, with that fixed stare, that intensity and wonder in his eyes — it made something inside her want to reach out to him. Hold him. Help him.

"You're beautiful," he said. Facing her. Both his hands entangled with hers. "Amazing. Impossible."

For a few moments, Dawn thought he was going to kiss her.

But he didn't.

She tried to ask him about his home. His past. His childhood. But he never told her anything specific. Said he didn't have a childhood. Had been snatched away from it. A childhood stolen from him.

"Everything before that… is just a haze," said Gray. "A blur." His eyes sharpened. "Except… for him. My brother. I remember him."

"What's he like?" asked Dawn.

The fire rose in Gray's expression. "The hero," he said. "The leader. Everyone looked up to him. I always thought I could depend on him."

"Where?" asked Dawn. "If you give us a place, we can go there. See if he's still—"

"He won't be home," Gray said. "He always said he wanted to leave. First chance he got." Gray's eyes drifted to the windows, watching the distant stars twinkle, as Oliver floated through space. "He's out there. Somewhere. I just need to find him." He squeezed Dawn's hands a little tighter. "I can't rest until I find him."

"You'll find him," said Dawn. "Trust me."

Gray looked back at her. His eyes fixed on hers, that expression of utter gratefulness and almost worship washing over him. "I do," he said. Stepped in a little closer. "Trust you like I've never trusted anyone before."

Okay, either Seo was screwing with the thermostat, or Dawn was blushing like crazy. Geeze, she hadn't blushed like this around a guy since high school!

"I don't understand how you can be," said Gray. "How you can exist. But here you are. Dawn Summers. The most amazing, perfect woman in the galaxy."

He leaned in. And Dawn was sure. This time, he was _going_ to kiss her.

But then he stepped back. His eyes falling out the window, again.

And never did.


	4. Chapter 4

"I know it's your ship," said Dawn, when she ran into Seo, again. "And you're in charge of who comes and goes. But… it's just… this guy I rescued. Gray. He's gotten really attached to me. And I think I can help him find his brother. And—"

"Yes," said Seo, not looking up from the central console.

Dawn, for a moment, wasn't sure what to say.

Seo glanced up at Dawn. "You're asking if he can come with us," she said. "And the answer is yes. Of course he can." Her eyes drifting upwards, towards the flights of spiral staircases and layers upon layers of Oliver's ship-space. "I think it's a good idea."

Dawn hadn't expected Seo to cave that quickly.

Not at all.

"I mean, I don't want you to feel all third-wheel or anything," Dawn said. "And if you're uncomfortable, that's totally fine. It's just—"

"Stick with him," Seo told Dawn. She turned back to the central console. "Really. Every moment he's out there. Stick with him, and don't let him go."

* * *

"I mean, I'm sure there's all kinds of stuff that Seo can do," Dawn explained, leading Gray into the central console room. "DNA craziness and super-tracking and whatever. Trust me, we can totally find your brother."

Gray didn't answer. Taking in the central console room. The bamboo floors and the sculpted console-thingy, the entire majesty of the ship that Seo had built. And Seo, standing there, in the middle of it.

She looked up. And for a moment, their eyes met.

Seo and Gray.

Neither spoke. Both just staring at one another, an unreadable expression on both their faces.

Then Seo looked back down at the central console. "Let's start off slow," she said. "Get him back on his feet and associated with the real world, before we look for this brother of his."

Dawn glanced at Gray, a little nervously, but Gray didn't answer. Just stepped off the last step of the staircase, and began to circle the console room, his eyes taking in everything around him. Pausing, once more, on Seo.

"Seo," Dawn whispered, rushing over and leaning across the central console. "This brother thing. It means a lot to him. Couldn't we—?"

"He's been a prisoner for a long time," said Seo. "Tortured by a group that tore away his world and his family, and knew no mercy or compassion. Treated him like an object." She flipped some more switches. "You don't just… 'get over' something like that."

Dawn peered at Seo. Studying her, carefully. "Okay, seriously, what's really going on?"

"Nothing," said Seo, dematerializing the ship and sending it into the vortex. "I'm fine. I told you."

"Is this just you teenage angsting, again?" asked Dawn. "Or should I be really worried about this?" She waited a moment. Then whispered, "It's not something _I_ did, right?"

Just then, Oliver buckled and shook. Then gave a cry and a whine, his circuits all flipping around like crazy, as he continued to rattle and jostle.

Seo barely caught herself on the central console.

Dawn raced out, and caught up Gray, before he could fall and hurt himself. Shortly before another jolt threw them both to the ground, tumbling together in a tangle of limbs and body parts.

Their faces were only an inch apart.

"Someone's following us," said Seo, as the ship lurched, again. She kept trying to steer and keep it steady, but the ship was still whining and groaning and shaking like crazy. "Trying to trace us through the vortex."

Dawn peered past Gray, out the window. And caught a glimpse of who it was. Recognized the face, the hair, the deranged expression.

"Hart," Dawn breathed. "Just my luck!"

Seo caught the name. Looked back over her shoulder, hesitating, just a moment, as if trying to decide what to do.

"Seo!" Dawn snapped.

Seo shot her head back at Dawn. Received Dawn's reprimanding expression, with just a hint of sheepishness on her part. Then grimaced, seemed to realize that exposing someone already mentally fragile like Gray to a crazy flirting nutcase like Hart was probably a bad idea, and turned back to the console.

"I can lose him," Seo assured her. "Throw him off our trail. The ride just might be a little… bumpy."

The ship lurched, throwing Dawn and Gray against the far wall. Gray took a shaky breath, as his hand touched the window-wall. "This… ship," he muttered. "It's made of glass."

"Yeah, but it's got super defenses," Dawn assured him. "Basically indestructible. Like, this one time, it got caught in an explosion, and it turned out totally fine."

Gray didn't seem placated. He took her hand in his, squeezing it, tightly. As if she were all he had. All he knew.

"It's okay," said Dawn. "I got you. I'm not letting go."

His expression softened, at those words. Looking deep into her eyes.

As their ship tumbled through the vortex.

* * *

"See?" said Seo, stepping out of the ship, and patting it on the side. "Oliver's fine. It didn't even damage him."

Dawn emerged, right after. Her hand still holding Gray's.

They'd landed in a bustling bazaar in the middle of an alien-looking city. The smell of rich alien foods wafted through the air, the shouts of street merchants and the rush of busy shoppers surrounding them.

"We'll just give him a chance to cool off," said Seo. Her face a happy beam. "See the sights!"

Dawn looked back at Gray, who was looking around himself with a sort of lost expression on his face. Unable to take it all in.

"You'll both be all right," said Seo. She shot Dawn a pointed look. "Just… look after him. Really. Don't let him out of your sight."

* * *

Seo, of course, ran off somewhere else. Probably to find trouble or an alien invasion she could thwart or something. Dawn wanted to follow her, still sure there was something Seo wasn't saying. Something important.

But Gray was in the middle of a minor freak-out. So Dawn kind of had her hands full.

"Where are we?" asked Gray.

"No clue where, no clue when," said Dawn. "Seo likes to land in totally random places and times and just explore."

Gray stared at her. "What do you mean… 'times'?"

"Oh, um, the ship, Oliver — it's a time machine," Dawn admitted. She looked around herself. "I'm thinking this is still the 51st century, though. She's been sticking to that, recently."

Mostly hoping she'd catch a glimpse of Hart.

(Although why she'd _want to_ was way beyond Dawn's understanding!)

It took Dawn a moment to notice that Gray was hyperventilating. She took him aside, sat him down on a bench.

"I guess you've never really been around this many people before, at once, huh?" asked Dawn.

"When I was a boy," Gray said. "I barely remember it."

Dawn looked deep into his eyes. Squeezed his hand in hers. "I'm here," she said. "Remember that."

"I always do," Gray replied.

He tried to settle down. Tried to get used to it all. Tried to brave the crowds and craziness and beautiful sunlight. He even let go of Dawn's hand, for a little while, and ventured off on his own.

But after only a half-hour, he seemed exhausted. Drained. Worn out.

"We can go back to Oliver," Dawn proposed.

Gray shook his head. "The outside," he said, staring up at the sky, "is… my freedom. I want that." He turned back to her. "Just… somewhere else. Somewhere quieter."

They wound up traveling outside the city. To a countryside retreat-type place, where Dawn thought he could cope better. And he did seem to be coping well. Very well.

They wandered around, together, hand-in-hand, taking in this beautiful world around them. The sunlight and the trees. The rolling grass and gently sloping hills.

"Freedom," said Gray. His voice shook, a little, as he touched one of the leaves on the trees. "I never thought I'd be free, again."

Dawn watched him. His form silhouetted by the sunlight. His eyes so intense, it took her breath away.

"You," said Gray, turning on her. "You saved me."

Dawn shrugged. "That's the day job."

Gray grabbed her up, pulling her closer to him. "You gave me life," he said. "Gave me hope. A chance to accomplish a goal I'd once thought could only ever be a dream. You've given me everything, Dawn. I want to repay that."

"Okay," Dawn breathed.

He _had_ to kiss her, now, right? They were plastered against each other, and that was so totally a make-out line!

But he didn't.

Just reached into his pocket, and brought out a small, metallic device. Still staring into her eyes. "I'd do anything for you," he said. "Anything at all. Even this."

And he hit the button on the device.

A violent roaring filled Dawn's ears, as the ground shook beneath her feet. She almost fell, but Gray caught her, didn't let her fall.

"What the…?" Dawn started.

Then stopped.

Stared.

Where the city had once stood, there was now just a gigantic crater of rubble and ruins. The heat and smoke from the explosion still trailing up to the sky.

Dawn couldn't breathe.

"You… you…" Dawn stuttered.

"I did it for you," said Gray, putting the device away. "I told you."

Dawn spun on him. "All those people!" she shouted. "Everyone—!"

"If my former masters couldn't harm your niece," said Gray, calmly, "there was no other option. This was the only way."

A chill ran through Dawn. "What?"

"A niece," said Gray, "who reminds you of your sister. I killed her. For you." He squeezed her hand in his. "As a thank-you."

Dawn yanked herself free from him. "No," she said. Shook her head, as she stumbled back. "No, no, no, no!"

Dawn hadn't even thought… couldn't even think…

Seo. Dead.

Could Seo even regenerate from something like this?

"I have to find her," said Dawn, spinning on her heels to race back to the city. "If there's any chance she survived, I have to—"

But she was caught by the wrist. Dragged back, with a punishing grip, by Gray.

His eyes were cold. Calculating.

"You said you wouldn't let me go," Gray said, his voice now hard. "Wouldn't leave me."

"Yeah, but then you murdered my niece and blew up a city!" Dawn shouted. "That wasn't part of the deal!"

Gray wouldn't let her go. Just grabbed her wrist tighter and tighter, until Dawn squeaked in pain.

"The important thing is… your ship survived," said Gray. "Your… Oliver. You said it had survived explosions, before."

"Let me go," Dawn pleaded. "You're hurting me."

"As long as I have the ship, I can still find my brother," said Gray. He looked at Dawn. "We can find him. You and me, together."

Dawn froze. A sudden horror washing through her.

That spark… in his eyes. That fire. She could see, now, what it really was. Not love at all.

"You're going to kill him," Dawn whispered. "Your brother."

"Your sister gave up her life for you," said Gray. He squeezed her wrist even tighter, until Dawn cried out in pain. "My brother never did that for me. He let me go. Left me behind with those… monsters." His eyes grew cold. "I thought he'd come rescue me. But he never did. Day after day after day. And he never came."

"Seo came," said Dawn. "She rescued you." She struggled to fight back tears. "And you killed her."

"She doesn't matter," said Gray. "None of this matters. _He_ is all that matters. The only purpose I have left."

"She mattered to me!" Dawn screamed.

Gray looked at her, impassively. A cold iciness inside of him that Dawn hadn't seen before. An iciness she'd only ever caught a glimpse of, when he had first seen Seo.

Dawn struggled to free herself. Struggled to get loose. Her heart racing in her chest. "What… are you going to do to me?"

"My savior?" asked Gray. He smiled — but it was a smile devoid of any warmth. "I'm going to give you the life you deserve. The life you were denied." He leaned in, closer, and whispered, "The life of Buffy Summers."

Dawn started back. Eyes wide.

"What?"

"She tried to give up her life for yours," said Gray. "But she's still alive. She cheated you out of her blood. Her life."

"Don't you dare," Dawn hissed.

"You and me," said Gray, "the younger siblings. Swept under the rug and forgotten about, while the heroes go off to fight. We're insignificant. The shadows." His eyes gleamed. "But that life should be ours. We have a right to take it."

"I _love_ her, you idiot!" Dawn shouted. She managed to wrench her hand out of Gray's grip, and stumbled backwards. "I love her, and I love Seo, and… I…"

Love.

Loved.

Past tense.

Because Seo was dead.

Gray stepped forwards, reaching out for Dawn. But she darted out of the way, fast as she could, and ran. Raced across the sunlit grass, heading towards the remains of that city. The rubble and ruin it had turned into.

No.

Seo had to be alive. She just had to. Buffy said she was all Doctor-like and regeneratingy, right? She had to have come back. Looking different, but herself.

Dawn jumped into a car, hotwired it, and raced back into the city.


	5. Chapter 5

A wasteland.

Charred and burned, corpses blackened and screaming out in pain and terror.

The remains of a city.

Dawn searched. Desperately searched for any sign of Seo. Any signs of anyone wandering around, having survived the blast, their skin glowing a faint gold and in the midst of serious regeneration sickness.

But the city was silent.

Dead.

"She can't be dead," Dawn told herself. "She… she can't really… be…"

Oliver.

That's where Seo would have gone, if she'd been having serious regeneration problems! She'd have stumbled back to Oliver, found refuge in there.

Dawn raced back to the ship. Stuck her key in the lock. Opened the door.

And was snatched back, hands shoved behind her and tied up, her aggressor handling her with a roughness and coldness that told her it could only be one person.

Gray shoved her inside. Then stepped forward, took the key out of the lock, and pocketed it.

"My ship, now," he said, closing the doors behind him. Surveying the ship in front of him. "Anywhere he's gone… I can find him. Make him pay."

"He probably doesn't even know you're alive!" Dawn said. "You can't just track him down and kill him. He's your brother."

Gray stepped up to the central console. Surveying it, with interest. "Easy enough to pilot," he decided. "Looks almost like fifty-first century technology."

Dawn tried to get up, undo the ropes.

"I wouldn't," said Gray, taking a gun out of his pocket and pointing it at her. "You really should have kept a better eye on me, like Seo told you. I've been up to all sorts of things, while you weren't looking."

Dawn cursed herself out inside her head. "You've been using me."

"No," said Gray. His eyes fixed on her. "I meant every word I said to you. You are the most beautiful, perfect woman I've ever seen." He turned back to the central console, pressing buttons and flipping switches. "But my life has only one purpose, Dawn Summers. I don't have time for things like love or friendship." He gave a bitter laugh. "All that died out long ago."

Dawn went still. Not provoking him.

Just stay alive. Get free, when he's distracted. Take your chance, and stop him, before he has a chance to murder anyone.

His brother.

Buffy.

Gray yanked on the final lever, a large grin on his face. As the ship began to judder into life. The mechanical circuits all clicking into a rhythm, as it pulsed with power.

Then…

Stopped. Groaned. And clunked off.

Gray stared. Tried again. Tried with different settings. Then tried switching around a few things. But, still. No departure.

The ship stayed put.

"No!" shouted Gray, in a fury, slamming his hands down on the console. "Why won't you work?!"

"Because the controls only work for _me_ , of course," said a familiar voice, from Dawn's right.

Dawn turned, and… there, standing at the base of the spiral staircase… was Seo. Her blond hair just the same as ever. Her brown eyes staring, hard, at Gray. Her posture confident, dark, and menacing.

Gray swung the gun up and pointed it at Seo. "You're supposed to be dead."

"I found an odd energy signature in the city," Seo explained. "Thought it might be a bomb. I'd just nipped in here to get the tools I needed to trace and disarm it, when… boom."

Gray flicked the safety off the gun. Clearly, he wasn't going to let Seo survive a second time.

"Don't be thick," said Seo, with a sigh. "You can't shoot me. If I'm dead, this ship will never leave the ground."

Gray considered.

"Which means," said Seo, "of course, that you're about to point the gun at…"

Gray swung the gun around to point at Dawn.

But Dawn was ready.

Had already slipped out of the restrains, taken advantage of the distraction, and leapt to her feet. Moment the gun was pointed at her, she threw herself at him and yanked it right out of his hand, shoving him against the central console with a violence she hadn't expected. A violence that banged his head against the ground, and knocked him out, cold.

Then she turned to Seo.

Raced over, and grabbed her up into a tight hug.

God. She'd thought she'd lost her. Lost her forever.

"You knew," said Dawn. "About… Gray. You told me to keep an eye on him. You wanted him to stick around with us instead of going out into the world by himself."

Seo didn't answer.

"How?" asked Dawn.

Seo leaned down, picked up the restraints that had once been secured around Dawn. Her eyes fixed on that branded mark on Gray's neck.

"Lucky guess," said Seo, restraining him.

Gray came to, not long after. Looking up at Seo and Dawn through pain-filled eyes.

Eyes that lingered on Dawn. Hurt and betrayal mixing with the pain.

"Should never have trusted you," Gray muttered.

"Yeah, I was thinking kind of the same thing," Dawn agreed, crossing her arms.

He struggled, but then seemed to notice the restraints. Gave it up, staring back at his captors with weary eyes. "What are you going to do to me?"

"We don't know, yet," said Seo.

"But one thing's for sure," said Dawn. "You're never seeing your brother, again."

Gray surveyed them both. "Then kill me," he demanded.

Seo and Dawn didn't move.

"Kill me!" shouted Gray, struggling. "That's all I've wanted for so many years! To die! To find peace!"

"We're not killing you," Dawn told him.

Gray paused. "No," he decided. "You won't." He turned his eyes to Seo. "But _you_ might."

Dawn gave a shocked laugh. Yeah, he obviously didn't know Seo well, at all. "Seo doesn't kill anyone," she said. "Doesn't kill humans. Doesn't kill monsters. Actually dates psychopaths. You're barking up the wrong tree."

Seo didn't say anything. Just stood there. Her eyes locked on Gray's.

"You _know_ , don't you?" Gray said to Seo. "That's why you saw through me. You recognized yourself in me."

Seo quirked an eyebrow at him. "Don't know what you're talking about."

"What's on your forehead?" asked Gray.

Seo started backwards, in alarm. Her hand reaching up to pat down her bangs, again. "I… I don't…"

"A mark?" asked Gray. "A brand?" His voice dropped, that much crueler, that much more malicious. "Did you try to kill yourself, too, just to get away from it all? Did you lose everything you had, until all that was left was hatred and rage and that burning desire to kill?"

Seo didn't answer. Froze, in the middle of the console room.

"Then do it," Gray growled. "Kill me, Cupcake."

The moment the words left his lips, something tore across Seo, a blaze of utter fury and anger and desperation, something too dark for words and more broken than Dawn could ever imagine. She snatched up the gun, and pointed it squarely at Gray.

His eyes challenged her to do it.

Dawn jumped between Seo and Gray. Shocked, but determined.

"Get out of the way, Dawn," Seo demanded, and for a moment, her voice was almost as icy, cold, and heartless as Gray's.

"No," said Dawn.

Seo's hand trembled around the gun. "Dawn…"

"You don't kill people!" Dawn insisted. "You don't do this! Not even to psychopaths." She pointed down at Gray. "So why kill _him_? What makes him so different?"

"I just have to," Seo hissed.

"Why?" Dawn demanded.

"Because if I don't kill it in him, then how can I kill it in me?!" Seo screamed. Her eyes terrifying, her entire body shaking. "I became a monster, Dawn! I gave in, agreed to murder innocents, and no matter how hard I try, I can't forget that! Can't forget that I'm the kind of person that'd be willing to do that."

Dawn stared at her. "What…?"

"My father," said Seo. "He told me to forgive. Love is stronger than hate. Forgiveness stronger than revenge. And he was right! My hatred destroyed me, Dawn! I can't go back to that! I can't…" Her eyes blazed. "But I still hate the Master. For everything he did. A part of me will never stop hating him, and I can't rip that part out!"

"The Master?" asked Dawn. "What are you talking about?"

"I just don't want to hate, anymore!" Seo said. Tears emerging in her eyes. "I don't want to be that person, Dawn. I gave in, I betrayed everyone, and you… you can't… let me…"

She lowered the gun, and burst into tears.

Dawn came over. Held Seo, tight. Shushed her, trying to calm her down. All that Dawn had done for Gray, all she'd tried to do to help him… and _here_ was whom she should have been helping, all along. Someone so desperate to reject that hatred and cruelty.

Someone who'd been crying out, even when Dawn hadn't known enough to hear it.

* * *

...

* * *

"I guess a lot of things became clearer, after that," the hologram-Dawn admitted, on the recording to Buffy. "Like… the psychopath-dating thing. I think… it's like… overcompensation. She hates this Master guy for screwing up her life, but she knows she _shouldn't_. So she winds up going all smoochies with the biggest mass murderers in the cosmos."

Buffy collapsed into a nearby chair. Head in her hands.

"I always just assumed she was acting out because she was… you know," said Dawn, "like I was, back when I was a teenager. I didn't think she was trying to get over… something like…"

A look of utter horror and pain crossed over Dawn's face.

"I should have seen it earlier," Dawn muttered.

So should Buffy.

She should have seen it much, much earlier.

"I don't think Seo would have really killed Gray," said Dawn. "That's not Seo. Not something she'd do. But… just… seeing her that desperate and horrified…" Dawn shook her head. "I was afraid, Buffy. At that moment. I was afraid she was actually desperate enough to do it."


	6. Chapter 6

It took Dawn some time to calm Seo down enough to get her to remember their prisoner. The latest psychopath that had wandered into their lives.

Seo looked down at Gray — restrained and helpless, begging for death.

Handed Dawn the gun.

"I couldn't save the Toclafane," Seo said. "But I can save you."

"I don't want to be saved," Gray snapped at her. "I want to die! I want to murder my bastard brother and just die, already!" He struggled. "You _know_ how it feels."

"Yes," Seo agreed. "I know." She walked over, her eyes on the floor. "Trying to be brave. Trying to be strong. Trying to have faith and stand up for what you believe in." She knelt down, beside him. Her eyes meeting his. "But… deep down inside… you're just a terrified, screaming little child. That's all."

Gray faltered. Caught out. Then stuck a determined expression on his face. "What are you going to do to me?"

* * *

Gray didn't know what was happening. Didn't know what Seo was doing, as she tied him up in the middle of the destroyed city, surrounded by his victims. Tied him to a still-standing metallic post, strapped a device to his wrist, which molecularly bonded with his skin.

He recognized it. A rejuvenator. To satisfy all bodily needs over a short period of time.

(The parts of the rejuvenator could be reassembled to make a bomb. Gray knew that, too. Knew exactly how to unbond the molecules with his skin, and construct the bomb.)

Then Seo stepped back. Surveyed him, carefully.

And he waited for her revenge.

"Stay there," said Seo. She gestured at the city around them. "And think about what you've done."

She turned, and headed, with Dawn, back towards Oliver.

Gray struggled, in utter and complete rage, to free himself. "You're giving me a time out?!"

"Yep," said Seo, opening Oliver's door and ushering Dawn inside.

"I've butchered an entire city!" shouted Gray. "I tried to kill you! You can't just—"

But it was too late.

As the ship faded out of existence. And left Gray alone. In the devastated remains of an alien planet.

* * *

The man who'd called himself John Hart arrived in the Bedlam Outlands, a wilderness littered with charred corpses and ash and ruins.

And… one person, tied up, in the middle of it all.

"Huh," said Hart. Strolling over. "Who're you, then?"

"Gray," the person pleaded. "Help me. Please, help me. Before they come back."

Hart's eyes lit up. Putting all the puzzle pieces together. The mark of the Yugzode on Gray's skin. The way he'd been dropped off and abandoned here, with no food or water or anything. The name…

"So _you're_ the little brother!" said Hart. He gave a small laugh, untying him from the post. "Yeah. Sure I'll help you. Course."

His mind already racing through possibilities. Ways he could use this to his advantage.

Gray froze. A gleam in his eyes. "You… know… my brother?"

"Get stuck in a time loop with someone, and you get to know them pretty well," said Hart.

Gray gave a little grin. Reached up his sleeve, for where he'd hidden the rejuvenator he'd removed and modified. "In that case," he said, "you're my savior."

* * *

...

* * *

"We came back for Gray one day later," said the hologram-Dawn. "I mean, for us, it was about thirty seconds. We just skipped ahead. But when we got back… Gray was gone."

* * *

...

* * *

"Okay, okay!" said Dawn, when confronted by the empty spot where Gray should have been. "But he couldn't have gotten far. I mean, if we search the ruins, we've got to find him sooner or later."

Seo grimaced. "We… were followed. In the vortex. What if… we _didn't_ shake Hart off? What if…?"

Dawn stared at Seo. The two meeting one another's eyes.

And realizing just how screwed they really were.

"We've got to find them," Dawn said.

"We will," Seo replied. "Before Gray ever gets close to finding his brother, again. We'll find them. And we'll stop them."

* * *

...

* * *

"So that's our life, at the moment," said the hologram-Dawn. "Hunting down a psychopath crazy guy who's hooked up with a different psychopath crazy guy before the first one has a chance to murder his brother. It's a total barrel of laughs."

Buffy wasn't so interested in the crazy psychopath guys, though. She'd be way dead by the 51st century, anyways. She wanted to hear more about Seo. What Dawn thought was wrong with her.

"I kind of hope Gray _does_ find you, first, actually," said Dawn. "Because I know you'd totally kick his butt."

Buffy grinned, despite herself.

"Seo's been using the whole chasing Gray thing to distract me from talking to her about her breakdown," Dawn continued. "But… she's got problems, Buffy. Serious problems. From what I can work out, there's a whole year of her life that we both missed. Something involving Harold Saxon and the Toclafane. I know that, during that year… Seo got tortured. By the Master. Who wanted her to do something evil." Dawn sighed. "I know Seo gave in, eventually. And I know it resulted in her doing something she's ashamed of." She brushed some hair back over her shoulder. "I think it's the 'ashamed' thing that makes her unwilling to admit she remembers anything at all."

Buffy nodded.

Dawn slumped. "Anyways. First thing we have to do is catch Gray before he murders his brother. Which is mega-hard, because he keeps zig-zagging around through time and space. But after we're done with that… I'm bringing Seo back home. Just to… talk to you."

"Good," said Buffy.

Dawn's eyes fixed off into the distance. "But… see if you can figure out a way to convince Seo to confront Jack. Because… I'm starting to get the feeling… _he's_ the one she should be talking to."

A knock, off camera. And Seo's voice calling in that they'd landed. 1820. London.

"Coming!" Dawn called back. She turned back to the camera. "Okay. Got to go. Just remember my warning. K?"

And the hologram blinked off.

Buffy, for a few moments, couldn't say anything. Just kept thinking through what she'd heard.

One thing to do. It was time to go to Torchwood. And ask Jack if he knew anything about some year-she-couldn't-remember, which involved Seo and the Master.

Leave Dawn to figure out Mr. Kill-His-Brother on her own.

That, at least, was one difficulty Buffy could spare Jack having to worry about.

* * *

...

* * *

London, 1820.

"So… Gray traded an alien warp engine for… what, again?" asked Dawn.

"No idea," said Seo, racing through the streets. "Something in that crashed space ship." She nodded at the two vampires, just ahead. "I'm hoping they can tell us what."

"And tell us where this alien warp engine thing is," Dawn added. "Before it turns all of London into a bowl of noodle soup."

They rounded the corner, saw the vampires threatening a young man. A man holding a briefcase, his eyes wide and terrified, his face and body thin, yet attractive. Handsome.

Seo stared at him. For a few seconds, unable to move.

Something… about him… seemed oddly familiar. As if she should know him from somewhere else… had seen him, before…

She was pulled out of her thoughts by Dawn, who had just staked one of the vampires through the heart.

"Dawn," Seo said, with a small laugh and a shake of her head. "We're supposed to be _questioning_ them, remember?"

"Yeah, getting to that part," said Dawn. Backing the second vampire against the far wall, stake against his heart, demanding he tell her what she wanted to know.

Seo, in the meantime, crept forward. Offered her hand to the young man.

"I'm Seo," she said. "That's Dawn. We're here to help." She gave him her nicest smile, as he took the hand, and kissed the back. "What's your name?"

"William," said the man.

Dawn, having gotten the information she wanted, staked the second vampire and turned to the other two. "Billy, huh?" she said. "Coolness."

Then spun around, and raced off, onto the main street.

Manger Street.


End file.
